[kstenson]

barriers to starting a company are not based on getting permission, as you rightly say there are other factors such as social economic.

The fact that you were able to start your own company and succeed is a mixture of your upbringing, your standing in society as much as your intelligence and access to capital.

It's a common fallacy to think that just working harder or having the grit to strike out is the only factor. I would suggest that line of thinking would lead to some form of survivorship bias.

[skookumchuck]

Lists of excuses are easy to come by. I hear a long list of excuses from people who grew up in pretty much the exact same circumstances I did.